I’ve convinced my friend Tawn to share pictures of this huge wall and her painting tips for the faux finish she used! Cool huh? Read on:
Hey there! Well, since I’m not very good at being short and sweet and to the point let’s get started or this article willl be way tooooo long! Ha!
I wanted the wall to be different and not just roll a color on. I wanted it to showcase my family and friends photos.
But I also don’t like “normal”, so I didn’t want to do the wall all in one color or one style of faux finish but to make it catch your eye.
Step one was to roll the base coat of paint on. I picked a lighter color that is great in a hallway where there isn’t a lot of light.
To showcase the photos I wanted to do a faux finish that also tied in with my southwestern styled furniture.
Sponging, but not your basic sponging…never just one coat/layer. I never sponge less than three layers or coats of paint.
It just doesn’t get the depth and “Ooooo” factor if you do only one layer…or to me…less than three!
Step2 – I had to pick the “breaking” point so it looks like the plaster broke off.
Because my walls are high I decided to keep the height and make the break point around 12 feet from the floor. I took a water color pencil and drew a shaky line like I was cold and shivering while I drew! Gives it a more realistic look. Or like drawing a torn edge of paper or drawing a mountain range.
So, using a watercolor pencil I drew the jagged edge – sloping it up and sloping it down….not a straight line…around the room.
Now that I have the line it’s time to paint below with my layers of sponging!!
Over the yummy butter color I sponged on a slightly darker shade of the yellow.
On top of that I sponged a layer of chocolate brown. On top of that I sponged on a layer that was lighter than the base yellow.
Now it was time to add depth. Taking my deep brown color I painted a “shadow” along the torn/broken edge.
I wanted to create some “cracks” in the wall so I drew a shadowy line from a “natural” dip in the “broken edge”.
And – DONE! I love the way it shows off my friend’s pictures but it looks good even without the pictures! People love it.
